The living environment in the Yuanmingyuan was far more comfortable than that in the imperial harem.
This applies to the emperor, empresses, and concubines, and even more so to palace maids.
The Eastern and Western Six Palaces were not large, but when the late emperor was alive, he had many concubines, reportedly more than two hundred.
Moreover, most of the lower-ranking concubines could only live in side halls and share a room with others.
So it's no wonder they fight; if they didn't, they'd have to keep sharing a room with everyone else. That living environment might not even be as good as a four-person dormitory in university.
Even the young mistress has to sleep on a large communal bed, let alone the servants? Currently, only Sun Miaoqing and Xin Changzai live in Chuxiu Palace, so it is quite spacious.
Two people, Lily of the Valley and Rose, can share a small house. But when they arrived at Changchun Immortal Pavilion, the place was spacious and cool.
These women, who served her so intimately, each had their own small room to live in. This made the other palace maids and eunuchs, who slept in large communal beds, extremely envious.
Before Sun Miaoqing got up, Liuli had already finished washing and dressing, and stood respectfully outside the gauze curtain.
These past few days, the Empress has been pondering the letter the Master sent her. Last night she was thinking about it until late again, so she probably won't get up this early today.
Thinking of this, Liuli was extremely grateful to the Empress. If the Empress hadn't exempted the concubines from their morning and evening greetings, they wouldn't be able to sleep until now every day.
There was a noise coming from the bed. After receiving instructions, Liuli immediately pulled back the gauze curtain and went to serve her.
A dozen or so palace maids and eunuchs filed in, carrying the things Sun Miaoqing needed for washing and grooming.
First, add rose petal dew to hot water, then wrap your hands in a handkerchief and soak them in the basin.
In just the time it takes to drink two cups of tea, you need to change the hot water three times. This will make your hands white, smooth, and as smooth as jade.
While soaking my hands, I also added rosewater to the basin. I used a cotton towel, wet and wrung it out, to apply it to my face as a hot compress, and then used three more basins of water in between.
After completing these preliminary preparations, Linglan stepped forward to apply makeup to Sun Miaoqing.
On the shelf next to the dressing table were seven or eight boxes, each about a foot square, filled with Sun Miaoqing's frequently used jewelry.
Liuli held the box, occasionally taking out hairpins or pearl flowers and arranging them on Sun Miaoqing's head.
Seeing that Sun Miaoqing's eyes were dull and listless, it was clear that she hadn't slept well last night.
Liuli said, "Your Highness, let me serve you for a while so you can rest. Anyway, there's nothing important to do today."
"Send the Fifth Prince to Jiuzhou Qingyan, so you can get some more sleep."
Sun Miaoqing said, "Yes, Hongzhou caught a cold a few days ago and has been staying at Changchun Immortal Hall. He hasn't seen Father Emperor for a few days, and feelings can become estranged after a few days apart."
"Have someone go and ask if the Emperor is at the Nine Provinces Palace. He's not unbusy, so have Qiangwei and Granny Li take the child there and let the Emperor fulfill his responsibilities as a father."
"As for resting, forget it. Yesterday, Consort Hua invited me to a small gathering at Qingliang Palace. I'll go there after breakfast."
Liuli said, "In that case, would it be alright for Your Highness to wear this white jade gardenia hair accessory today?"
"Wearing it in the summer gives a cool feeling. It looks simple and clean, yet it doesn't lack elegance."
Linglan said, "This servant remembers that you also have pearl earrings that were presented as tribute to Southeast Asia."
"The jade beads on it are made of white jade, which matches this white jade gardenia headdress perfectly. You previously said that these pendants are nice, with round and shiny beads."
Sun Miaoqing asked in confusion, "Really? I don't remember?"
Since entering the palace, her clothes and jewelry for each season have been sent by the Imperial Household Department.
Big Fat Orange would occasionally give her performance bonuses, and the Sun family would often select fashionable styles from outside the palace and have them sent to her.
Many things were only glanced at before being locked in a storage cabinet and then forgotten about, with no one even remembering that they existed.
Linglan found the pair of earrings and said with a smile, "Your Majesty has a room full of clothes and jewelry, how could you possibly remember everything?"
"This is the pair. Do you like them?"
Sun Miaoqing looked at the earrings in the box; the ear hooks were made of silver and adorned with beads of mutton-fat white jade.
A round, dazzling South Sea pearl hangs below, with an amber-colored gemstone bead between the two pearls.
Among the beads, gold and silver filigree flowers are used as decoration, making the pearl's luster even more dazzling.
With so many pieces of jewelry, you only wear a few regularly.
Sun Miaoqing inwardly cursed her extravagant lifestyle once more, then turned and said with a clear conscience,
"I'm a little hungry. Has breakfast been served yet? I'd like a bowl of porridge to tide me over."
Liuli said, "It's all ready. Today we have red rice and shredded chicken porridge, white fungus and lotus seed porridge, red date and bird's nest porridge, glutinous rice and pumpkin porridge, preserved egg and lean pork porridge, and scallop and pork rib porridge."
"Your Majesty, what flavor would you like to drink?"
Sun Miaoqing said, "Bird's nest porridge, and a plate of pickled cucumbers."
After Sun Miaoqing finished speaking, two palace maids brought in bird's nest porridge and side dishes. Having breakfast at the dressing table was not in accordance with palace etiquette.
However, ever since she became a concubine and started raising the prince, no palace maid or eunuch would whisper this in her ear once the doors were closed.
Therefore, she couldn't understand why, even though Empress Dowager Cixi was ruling from behind the curtain, she still had to be reminded by eunuchs to eat more of her favorite dishes during meals.
She could only complain verbally, which was completely inconsistent with her status as the most powerful woman in the late Qing Dynasty.
After Sun Miaoqing finished tidying herself up, she went to the Qingliang Hall and sat down at the mahjong table. Inside the Jiuzhou Qingyan, the chubby orange tree and his chubby son Hongzhou were staring at each other.
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